Time Switch
by Shath
Summary: How will the Autobots handle Sideways, Thundercracker, Ransack and Crumplezone as toddlers, and Starscream as a baby? An old Cybertron Galaxy Force fic I wrote quite a while ago. Features just about all of the Autobots, most notably Red Alert & Jetfire.


**Time Switch (Cybertron/Galaxy Force)**

"Woops," said Jolt. 'Woops' was the understatement of the millennia. 'Woops' didn't even begin to cover what had just been done.  
"Um… Optimus?" Vector Prime asked after getting over the initial shock of what had just happened.  
"Yes Vector Prime?" Optimus Prime asked.  
"Well… I'm alive," he stated. The Autobots had brought him back to life by using the Time Key, an ancient Cybertronian artefact that helped control time and life. Unfortunately, things didn't go quite to plan, and Vector Prime, being the keeper of space and time, had affected the Time Key and accidentally caused a strange space and time shift that should not have occurred.  
"I'm very glad you are… but what are we going to do with these?" Optimus asked, gesturing towards the Decepticons.  
"We can't just leave them here," Jetfire said.  
"Jetfire's right. We had better bring them back to the base until we can figure this thing out," Red Alert decided.  
"But then they'll know where our base is!" Hotshot pointed out.  
"True, but we can't just leave them here," Red Alert replied.

A beam of light had shot out of the Time Key shortly after Vector Prime's revival. It had missed the Autobots luckily, but had hit the Decepticons, all of them except Megatron. And now the Decepticons had been warped millions of years back in time, to their child selves, only they remained in the current time, and were in their current forms. They didn't appear to have their memories though, thinking and acting as they did when they were children. Megatron had flown off in disgust to plan on how he would combat the situation.

Sideways was dancing in circles humming. He was a toddler, almost a young child. Thundercracker was also a toddler of a fair age as well, and he was sitting, looking around warily and trying not to show that he was scared. Crumplezone and Ransack were younger toddlers, and they were playing together with a rock. To the Autobots' surprise, Starscream was the youngest of them all, and had been reduced to a baby. He was lying on his back and making soft noises, covering his optics with his little hands. He was scared by the events, and started to cry out.

"I agree with Red Alert. We will bring the Decepticons to our base," Optimus said. He decided that some Autobots would be in charge of getting the Decepticon children to the base without mishap, and the rest would go ahead and prepare the base for them.  
"Vector Prime, you and the Minicons can take Sideways. Landmine, you take Crumplezone and Ransack. Jetfire, you take Starscream. Be careful with him. I'll take Thundercracker. The rest go ahead and prepare the base. Red Alert, you stay here in case one of us has trouble," Optimus ordered. Landmine talked Crumplezone and Ransack into riding in his scoop, so he transformed and they hopped in, ready for a ride. Vector Prime took Sideways' hand, and managed to walk with him without too much trouble, although the young jet kept moving in odd zigzag patterns. The Minicons helped keep him walking in a fairly straight line though.

Thundercracker was not too much trouble, but decided part of the way there he had had enough walking, so Optimus picked him up and carried him. By this stage Starscream had started crying, which quickly progressed to screaming. Jetfire held him up but the frightened flier continued to cry.  
"Can you please make him stop, Jetfire?" Red Alert asked, covering his audios as he walked alongside the jet.  
"I'm trying!" Jetfire replied, struggling to hold the squirming Starscream.  
"Here, let me hold him," Red Alert said, taking Starscream from Jetfire and holding him close to his chest. "You have to make sure he's secure, I highly doubt he can fly at this age," Red Alert explained. He then made shushing noises that seemed to calm the little jet down a little, reducing his screams to gentle sobs as he put his thumb in his mouth.  
"Since when did you know this much about babies?" Jetfire asked.  
"I don't really. He just looked uncomfortable the way you were holding him," Red Alert explained. "Here, just hold him securely and he should be alright, and speak softly," the medic said, holding the baby out to Jetfire.  
"Hey there little guy, it's alright," Jetfire cooed as he held Starscream the way Red Alert had. Starscream looked up at him with innocent purple optics, then rested his head against Jetfire's shoulder and let them slip offline as he contentedly sucked his thumb.

"Wheeeee!" Ransack called out as the Autobots reached the base. He and Crumplezone were having a great time riding in Landmine's scoop, even though the Autobot sensibly ignored their calls of "Faster! Faster!" Optimus had given a now behaving Thundercracker to Red Alert, and Starscream was still resting quietly in Jetfire's arms. The Minicons were busy coaxing Sideways into walking straight as Vector Prime kept a firm grip on him.The Decepticons remained silent as they entered the base and looked around at where they were.

"So what's the plan for them?" Jetfire asked as Red Alert tried to remain holding Thundercracker, who was now walking in circles around the medic.  
"We have set up a room for them," Scattershot said, showing the Autobots the room. Sideways, Ransack, Crumplezone and Thundercracker were let loose in the designated room. Sideways started running around while Thundercracker investigated his new home, and Ransack and Crumplezone looked around for something fun to do.  
"Starscream will have to stay with one of us at all times, he's too young to leave alone," Red Alert said.  
"Aw, he's so cute!" Bud exclaimed.  
"You will have to be careful though, he might not know to be gentle with you. You wouldn't want to get accidentally squished," Jetfire pointed out.  
"True," Lori agreed.

"We are going to have to keep them entertained," Override pointed out as Ransack tried to climb over the large box that was in front of the door so only the adult Transformers could step over it and get in and out.  
"Why not get them some toys?" Bud suggested.  
"Toys?" Jetfire asked.  
"Yeah. Fun objects for them to play with. Like a ball," Coby agreed.  
"Where are they going to find a Transformer-sized ball?" Lori asked.  
"We'll just have to make them," Coby replied.

Optimus Prime decided that the Autobots could focus on the Decepticons for the moment. Besides, the black hole had just been destroyed. Optimus set Scattershot and Hotshot on the task of continuing business as usual. Vector Prime was researching the Time Key, while the rest were busy taking care of the children Transformers. They no longer bore the insignia, but they were still referred to as Decepticons.

Red Alert was studying baby Transformers and Lori was gathering information about human babies that might help him. Jetfire was sitting beside them, cradling Starscream. The little jet seemed a little unhappy about something, but was content enough to remain quiet, and was happy enough to stay reasonably still while he played with one of Jetfire's hands. The remaining Autobots were busy making toys and things to keep the toddlers out of trouble.

Bud made a list of human toys and explained them to the Autobots while Coby made a list of ways to make the most suitable ones. Leobreaker and Override were in charge of getting the materials, and Landmine and the Minicons were in charge of construction. They built a large object that resembled a cat's jungle gym, complete with boxes and places to crawl in and out of and climb up. That would definitely keep them occupied for a while. The Minicons made a pair of rubber balls as well.

"Baby Transformers need to rest a lot, and require an energy formula to pass through them as their bodies cannot yet re-energise the particles used to transport energy to their systems," Red Alert said.  
"Huh?" Jetfire asked.  
"It means I have to make an energy formula for Starscream. Particles in our bodies pass through a chamber that gives them energy, and they travel around the body delivering that energy to our systems. When they have done that, they pass through the chamber again to get more energy. Baby Transformers need to be given an energy formula that already has energised particles, and after they have delivered the energy, more of the formula is needed and the de-energised mixture is removed from their bodies," Red Alert tried to explain to his friends in simple terms.  
"It sounds like a human, really," Jetfire commented. Starscream squirmed and made a sound that announced his discomfort.  
"My guess is that he wants some formula," Red Alert said.  
"So he's hungry," Lori said.  
"You could say that. I'll go prepare the formula. You guys look into that," the medic replied.

"How are you going to get him to take it?" Lori asked as Jetfire looked through the information Red Alert had found about it.  
"It's taken orally. Maybe he'll just drink it," Jetfire said hopefully.  
"Human babies take their milk and formulas from bottles," Lori said, drawing a large picture of a baby bottle for Jetfire. "Maybe we should make one for him."  
"That's a good idea," Jetfire said with a nod as he inspected the image.  
"Did someone say make?" Jolt asked as he hopped over to see what they were doing.  
"Jolt, we need you to make this. It's a baby bottle, it's something for Starscream to drink formula from. The top is usually made of a rubbery substance and the bottom from plastic," Lori explained.  
"Jolt is on the job!" the Minicon said happily as he took the piece of paper with the image and went over to show the other Minicons.

"What about when it comes back out?" Lori asked.  
"Uh… dunno how they deal with that. It comes out a tube and runs down and out when a latch is opened. In jets it's usually located behind their nosecone and a little back, as when they grow and the tube is no longer needed it becomes part of the system that takes de-energised… er, stuff, back to the chamber that gives it energy. The waste is generally discarded," Jetfire said.  
"Looks like we'll need to make him a diaper!" Lori decided.  
"A what?"

Landmine placed the 'climb toy', as Leobreaker had named it, into the room where the four toddlers were. All of them came over to inspect their new toys. Thundercracker leapt onto it and began to climb upwards, while Sideways ran around it and then leapt into a box, before deciding to climb up to a higher one. Ransack jumped onto a piece of chain that was hanging down and swung from it, while Crumplezone clapped joyfully at he watched his friend. Ransack dropped down and ran over when Leobreaker brought over the balls and some other toys, and the little red Decepticon took a ball and threw it at Crumplezone.

Optimus Prime was pleased with how things were coming along. With the Decepticons as little children, they had no problems as Megatron was too busy trying to recruit new soldiers. The four toddlers weren't too much trouble, although it was not uncommon to hear crying, screaming and/or crashing sounds from inside their room. Autobots were scheduled to check on them quite frequently.

Red Alert had made a good amount of the pale pink formula for Starscream, and the baby bottle the Minicons had made according to Lori's instructions was very successful, the little jet happily sucking on it when it was given to him. Jetfire volunteered to take care of him, but Red Alert helped him out often. After getting a routine set up, Jetfire found it quite easy to take care of him. He had set up a little timetable for feeding him, putting him down to rest and changing his diaper, which wasn't that gross since it was just a clear fluid. Bud had thought it would be funny to tell Jetfire about human babies and diapers just before the jet had to change Starscream for the first time. Jetfire had not found it so funny.

The only time Jetfire was not happy was when Starscream's systems decided they didn't like Red Alert's formula and he brought it back up through his mouth, generally onto Jetfire.  
"Aw, that's gross!" Jetfire had said the first time it happened. Red Alert had laughed and taken the upset little jet from Jetfire, explaining that it was normal in a small number of Transformers that had sensitive systems. Unfortunately Starscream's systems were very sensitive, but he quickly learnt to ensure most impurities found in the formula were ignored and did not result in Jetfire needing a clean.

The Transformers became used to Jetfire carrying the baby around all the time, and seemed to forget the fact the little guy was once one of their greatest enemies. Hotshot was the only one that hadn't held him. Even Leobreaker had given the little jet a cuddle. Starscream was a happy baby, smiling at the others, especially Jetfire and Red Alert, and remained well behaved. Eventually Hotshot agreed to pick Starscream up, and he did think he was kind of cute when he did so, until Starscream's systems disagreed with the movement and rejected the formula.  
"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" Hotshot had cried, holding Starscream out for Jetfire to take. The other laughed as he wiped the small amount of pale pink fluid from his chest.  
"Hey, for once it wasn't me!" Jetfire said with a laugh.  
"Look again," Scattershot giggled as Starscream dribbled a little on Jetfire.  
"Aw man! I just had that cleaned!" Jetfire exclaimed as he wiped it off quickly with his hand.  
"What do you mean for once? I got the worst last time I fed the little terror!" Red Alert said, giving Starscream an affectionate pat on the head.  
"Oh yeah, that was funny," Landmine had to admit.  
"We'll see how funny it is when you feed him!" Red Alert retorted, handing Landmine a bottle, producing another round of laughs.

After just about every Autobot in the base except the Minicons had become victims of Starscream's sensitive system, Red Alert decided to run some tests. He discovered that Starscream's system had a minor glitch that rejected the mixture he was given if he was moved about too much during or shortly after feeding. After that Starscream kept most of what he was fed down. Vector Prime was progressing with his research on the Time Key, not that any of the Decepticon children really cared. They were generally confined to their room, although sometimes they were let out. Sideways liked to run around in random patterns, and Thundercracker was very inquisitive. Ransack kept Crumplezone out of trouble, but made enough trouble himself for that to matter. Crumplezone was also quite accident prone, and was saved a number of times by various Autobots.

Jetfire had Starscream in his lap and was holding his hands, moving them about and smiling as the simple action elicited happy laughs from the tiny jet, when Vector Prime entered. He announced that they had produced a device that could change the age of a Transformer using the power of the Time Key.  
"But… are you sure we want to do that? I mean, they are a lot easier to handle in his current state," Scattershot said. Jetfire held Starscream close to him, and Starscream responded by clutching the larger jet tightly.  
"Yes, we will have to think about how we are going to do this," Optimus Prime said thoughtfully.  
"We could take Ransack and Crumplezone back to Speed Planet, and change them into young adults there. They could start afresh, and I know a group of racers that could guide them and make them better Transformers. Instead of having someone like Megatron influence them. At a younger age, they would be more impressionable," Override reasoned.  
"Sounds like a plan to me. Override, Hotshot, you two are in charge of rehabilitating Ransack and Crumplezone," Optimus agreed.

"What about Sideways and Thundercracker?" Landmine asked.  
"Maybe we could keep them on Earth as Autobot children. I know of a few Autobots that would love to take care of a young Transformer," Optimus said.  
"We could raise Thundercracker ourselves, as a very young adult," Scattershot suggested.  
"What about Starscream?" Jetfire asked.  
"I suggest we keep him as a child. He could be dangerous as an adult," Hotshot said.  
"Let's accelerate his growth to a young child. If he behaves we can take him up to young adult and use him and Thundercracker as Jetfire's wing mates," Red Alert suggested.  
"Alright, it's settled then. Vector Prime?" Optimus asked.  
"Right," Vector Prime replied.

After Override and Hotshot left with adults Crumplezone and Ransack, Sideways was sent out to his new home, and Thundercracker was changed into a young adult. The young jet liked the idea of staying with the Autobots. Next it was Starscream's turn. The baby was transformed into a young child. When the transformation was complete, Starscream shook his head and looked up at Jetfire.  
"Daddy!" he said with a giggle, reaching up and clenching then unclenching his hands in a request to be picked up.  
"Aw, he called you daddy!" Lori said with a smile as Jetfire picked up the young jet.

The Autobots loved having Starscream around as a child, and Thundercracker fitted in perfectly. He thought it was quite funny that Starscream was a child, but Starscream's childish cuteness was enough to melt even Hotshot, and he couldn't bring himself to pick on him. Jetfire was very protective of Starscream. Starscream was nothing like the Decepticon they had grown to hate. He was cute, happy, incredibly curious and affectionate. It made Jetfire sad to think that Starscream had been through so much that his spark had turned so cold and hard. He had mentioned his thoughts to the other Autobots when Starscream had fallen into sleep mode on Red Alert's lap to rest his systems and the medic was confined to where he was sitting as he didn't have the heart to wake him.

"But he's different now, and we aren't going to let that happen to him again," Hotshot had said rather ferociously. Even he had grown to love the little jet. After a few weeks, the Autobots decided it was time for Starscream to grow into an older child, a teenager by human standards. The bubbly little child was transformed into a handsome young jet. Starscream was still very attached to Jetfire, and Red Alert as well, but was now more independent. He remained happy, affectionate and curious, and spent more time with Scattershot, interested in the data that the small blue mech went through, picking up anything his friend missed. It really struck the Autobots when they realised what a sweet young jet Starscream would have been if he had not gone through whatever it was that turned him towards the Decepticons and Megatron.

Megatron was peeved. His elite were Autobots or resituated who knew where. When he and his new soldiers attacked the Autobots for the first time since the incident, he could not sway Thundercracker or Starscream his way, no matter what coaxing, lying or yelling he did. Starscream shot him in the face then hid behind Jetfire while Thundercracker laughed and danced in the air.  
"You got him Starscream! Right in the mouth! That'll keep the creep quiet for a while!"


End file.
